Slow Cooker General Tso's Chicken – Must Love Home (2024)

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Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken is a favorite Chinese take out dish that is crazy easy to make at home and this tastes even better!

Slow Cooker General Tso's Chicken – Must Love Home (1)

If you love Chinese take-out as much as I do, you will love this Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken recipe. It is the closest yet to restaurant flavor I have come…and it may even be better! General Tso’s is supposed to be both sticky sweet and slightly spicy, and at first I was making this using only red pepper flakes for heat. And while the recipe was amazing it was just missing something. So, after some trial and error I added a small amount of sriracha and that was IT!! I felt like skipping around the kitchen…then had a mental image of how I would look and settled for a high five instead.

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can still make this recipe. Just cook the chicken thru when you are browning it, then pour the sauce mixture over the chicken in the skillet. Cook until the sauce is thickened and serve. It is super easy! Use this sauce recipe to stir fry shrimp or vegetables too!

Slow Cooker General Tso's Chicken – Must Love Home (2)

Pro Tips For Making Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken

This recipe was created using chicken breast, but boneless, skinless thighs will work too.
Frying the chicken chunks first in cornstarch will result in a crunchy “batter” on the chunks and make them taste like the take-out variety.
Use fresh garlic and ginger. They are integral parts of the sauce. Dry spice versions will effect the flavor and texture.
Look for a Hoisin sauce that has contains fermented soybeans or soybean paste near the top of the ingredients. Lesser quality brands may use miso or other soy derivatives. Taste before using as some are extremely salty. I used Lee Kum Kee brand for this recipe.

Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken

Slow Cooker General Tso Chicken is a favorite Chinese take out dish that is crazy easy to make at home and this tastes even better!

4 from 14 votes

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Prep Time :10 minutes minutes

Cook Time :3 hours hours

Total Time :3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings :6

Calories :380

Course :Dinner, Main Dish

Ingredients

▢ 2.5 pounds chicken breasts boneless, skinless, cut into bite-size chunks
▢ 1/4 cup cornstarch
▢ 1/2 tsp ground pepper
▢ 2 tbsp vegetable oil
▢ 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
▢ 1/4 cup soy sauce
▢ 1/4 cup honey
▢ 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
▢ 1 tbsp minced garlic
▢ 1 tsp ginger minced
▢ 1 tsp sriracha
▢ 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
▢ sliced green onion for garnish optional

Instructions

Place cornstarch, black pepper and chicken chunks into a plastic bag. Shake until chicken is evenly coated with cornstarch.
In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil of medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook until chicken is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Chicken will not be cooked thru. Remove chicken from the skillet to the slow cooker.
In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, pinch of red pepper flakes and sriracha. Stir until well blended. Pour over the chicken.
Stir the chicken until coated with the sauce. Turn the slow cooker to high and cover.
Cook for 3-4 hours until the chicken is cooked thru and the sauce is thick. Serve over rice.

Chef Tips

Start checking the slow cooker at 2 hours. Depending on the size and power of your slow cooker, this dish may be done in less time.

Equipment Used

Slow Cooker

Cast Iron Pan

Glass Measuring Cups

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker General Tso's Chicken

Serving Size

1 serving

Amount per Serving

Calories

380

% Daily Value*

Fat

10.38

12 Comments

Christine
at

Though I haven’t done it, it could be cooked in the oven. Since the chicken is mostly cooked thru already, I would add the skillet chicken into a roasting pan, then pour the sauce over the chicken and stir to coat. I would use an oven temperature of 375 and bake uncovered for 35 – 45 minutes. The dish is done when the chicken chunks are at least 165 degrees on a meat thermometer and the sauce has thickened and is bubbly. Thanks for the question…I am going to make this recipe in the oven the next time and see how it goes.
Katie
at

If I wanted to cook this is the oven would that be okay? What would you recommend for oven temp and time
Christine
at

Hi Melissa, the recipe states to turn the slow cooker to high and cover. Then cook for 3 – 4 hours. I hope that helps. Have a great day!
Christine
at

They would be half breasts. 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts would weigh roughly 1.5 – 2 pounds total. Thank you for the clarifying question, I will add the weight to the recipe. Have a great one!
Carla Champlin
at

I want to try this recipe. Is a chicken breast half of the chicken or both sides?
Melissa
at

Slow cooker on low or high?
Christine
at

Hi Summer, that’s a great question. You could skip the skillet step, but you would lose the crispy coating on the chicken. If you go that route, just put the chicken in the slow cooker without dusting it with cornstarch first. The time in slow cooker may be slightly longer too because the chicken partially cooks in the skillet. Have a great evening!
Summer Revell
at

Can I be lazy and just throw it all in my slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours?
Christine
at

Thank you for visiting!
Muller
at

Thank you!
Christine
at

Hi Linda, you are so welcome! This is one of my absolute favorite slow cooker recipes…it is truly better than takeout! Let me know how you like it! Hugs- Christine
Linda-bestoflongislandandcentralflorida
at

I love using my slow cooker and will be making this soon!
Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Linda

I’m Christine, and I’m glad you’re here! Must Love Home is a food blog where you’ll find easy, family recipes with lots of flavor that even the beginner home cook can make. All are simple and most call for less than 10 ingredients Learn more…